Just trying to use the first deal to learn as much as possible and not get burned.

I have found time is better spent building tools to quickly analyze & procure new deals, rather than hyper-analyzing the metrics of one deal, ultimately making initial review faster & more reliable (spend time on the things that make sense, quickly remove things that don't, even junior-level staff can identify good opportunities with the tools, etc).For example, if I'm modeling a SFR to 3-4 unit scheme, I can quickly check the $/sf/mo for each of my proposed units and get a good idea of the GOI without having to manually dig through &  find rent comps in that City/Zip:- So instantly I know in Woodland Hills that a Studio is close to $5/sf/mo on avg, 1 Bedroom closer to $4/sf/mo, with the 2 & 3 Bedrooms closer to $3/sf/mo.

Once 6-12 months have passed, depending upon the loan program, you should be able to refinance it to bleed some of the "instant equity" out.

I would rather disappoint an investor by not funding than burn bridges.    

I am not a burn-the-boats type of person, and I am more productive with a backup plan.

I started off in 2009 spending 3K on 5 liens and I got burned on two of them and lost most of my money.

I had a cabin burn to the ground a few years ago near downtown Gatlinburg, and spent a small fortune building a timber frame log cabin out of thick yellow pine logs.

I warn all tenants who give me whatever story on why rent is late or going to be late, that they will be getting a POQ notice on the 3rd day and a late fee on the 5th, I don't care if it's because their employer burned down or thieves stole all their money or their grandma needed an emergency appendectomy.

I have a $385,000 "note" that I owe $300,000 on for an instant equity of $85,000.

@Ryan BiankowskiIn my opinion, if you have no experience flipping houses, no experience dealing with contractors and this is your first deal, $10K is nothing.Sorry to burst your bubble.An unscrupulous contractor will burn through your $10K in one day..... literally and you may never see him again.Assuming you have no experience, I would advise you as a starting point to slow down, sit yourself down, and buy J Scott's books for $49.00........and save yourself $9,951.00.Make sure you read them through thoroughly at least once, if not twice before making your first move.There are other good books out there, maybe a good local mentor that you can learn the ropes from and even some good "guru's" that you can learn from despite all the guru bashing on BP but I would definitely start with J's books.Said books are:The Book on Flipping HousesThe Book on Estimating Rehab Costs